NEW ORLEANS TRUCK ATTACK: A tragic incident unfolded Wednesday when a truck plowed into a New Year’s crowd at high speed on Bourbon Street in New Orleans’ French Quarter.
As many as 10 people were killed and more than 30 injured in the New Orleans truck attack. After striking someone, the driver got out of the car and began firing shots, which prompted police to return fire, CBS News reported, citing witnesses.
“A mass casualty incident has occurred at Canal Street and Bourbon Street. Please leave the area,” the New Orleans Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness Agency, NOLA Ready, said in a social media post about X.
The incident happened around 3:15 a.m. Wednesday at the intersection of Bourbon and Iberville streets, according to WGNO-TV. The injured were rushed to five local hospitals.
The New Orleans truck attack occurred just hours before the Allstate Bowl, a college football quarterfinal game, was scheduled to begin at the city’s Caesars Superdome. Thousands of people are expected to attend the event. “Initial reports indicate a car may have crashed into a group of people,” CBS News quoted a New Orleans Police Department spokesperson as saying, “Initial reports indicate a car may have crashed into a group of people. No one was reported injured, but no one was reported dead.” “I’m here,” he said.
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry said on social media platform X that a horrific act of violence occurred on Bourbon Street early this morning. Witnesses said they heard a crash from down the street and saw a white truck crashing through a barricade “at a high rate of speed,” CBS News reported.
The incident follows previous incidents during New Orleans parades in which gunshots and cars collided with crowds. Last November, two shootings occurred along the parade route in New Orleans, killing two people and injuring 10 others. Thousands of people attended these celebrations.
Another incident was reported in February 2017, when an intoxicated pickup truck driver plowed into a crowd of spectators watching the main Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans. As many as 20 people were injured in the incident.
